The True Savior
by Once Upon A Star Trek
Summary: The Charmings were played by Rumplestiltskin, Emma was never the Savior. Someone else is. TW for suicide


A bright violet light spread like a wave over Storybrooke, leaving the citizens stunned. Dullness and repetitiveness were replaced by warmth and joy. After a few moments of disorientated silence, a voice rang across the street. "Snow!" "Charming!" The happy couple fell into each other's arms. "The curse is broken, we're free." David lifted his wife up and spun her around in joy. "I knew Emma could do it." "I could do what?", Emma asked confused from behind him.

"You broke the curse, of course. You are our savior, that's why we sent you to this world, to find and save us." Emma frowned. "But I didn't do anything. I didn't find you, Henry found me. And I did nothing that would break a curse. I just walked down the street, when that crazy light flashed." Charming's jaw hit the floor. "But how can that be?"

"I don't care how it happened", Grumpy shouted. "The curse is finally broken, and now we will kill the witch. You coming?" The reunited family followed the dwarfs to the mansion of the mayor. They rallied up more than half of the town, all out for the evil witch's head.

Only to find the door of the mansion unlocked and Regina nowhere to be found. "So she got scared and ran off to hide, huh? Well, our family is exceptionally good at finding people, she can't hide for long", Prince Charming declared. They all took off in small groups. They would find the witch and make her pay.

Emma had chosen to go to the woods in her search. She was wandering around until she stumbled upon the cemetery, more specifically the almost abandoned back part of it. A building was towering over the tombstones, like a crypt. Why had she never seen that one? What kind of Deputy didn't know what kind of things existed in their town? She decided to approach it and upon closer inspection found that it wasn't as abandoned as everything else in this part of the cemetery. In fact, someone had recently walked through this door. The Sheriff carefully pushed it open. It was indeed a crypt.

She found her lying on the ground, next to a tomb with the inscription _Henry Mills, beloved father_. She was still and her face was soft, as if she was merely sleeping. But she was clutching something in her right hand. An apple. In her left hand, which was clutched to her heart, a letter. Henry's name was written on it in beautiful calligraphy, but the ink was smutched by water. Tears. It dawned on Emma what the woman in front of her had done.

With trembling hands, she got her phone out of her pocket. "Mary Margaret, I found her." "Where? We'll be right there." "A crypt in the cemetery. Bring the coroner." The happiness she heard on the other end of the line made Emma uncomfortable. How could one rejoice in someone's suicide? Despite her son's insistence, Emma had never believed the stories about the evil monster his adoptive mother was supposed to be. She had seen a human being in the other woman. That was now dead. Sighing, she took the letter to give it to her son. As soon as her mother plus half the town arrived, celebrating, Emma knew she had to get away before she got sick.

She found Henry in the park on a bench and sat next to him. The boy just looked at her. "Is it true what they said? Is my mom really dead?" The blonde only nodded. "I… I found her. I'm so sorry." Henry's dams broke and he cried. But he was confused. He should have been happy that she was gone. Instead, he realized how much he loved her, how much he cherished and adored her. Now that it was too late, he could never tell her. Emma handed him the letter. "She was holding onto this, so I think she wanted you to read it." He nodded. "Wanna go home to read it?" He nodded again, the lump in his throat made him unable to speak. It might make Henry more comfortable to be as close to his mother as possible, Emma figured, so she took him to Mifflin Street. Regina wouldn't mind. And if she did, she couldn't stop her anyway. Once there, Henry went to his room to read his letter, while Emma searched the kitchen for cocoa, milk and cinnamon. The boy sat on his bed and unfolded the damp paper.

_Dear Henry,_

_When you read this, the curse will be broken. The death of the caster undoes every curse. Your happiness is worth it for me._

_I just want you to know how sorry I am. Sorry for making you believe you were crazy, when I knew you were absolutely right the whole time. I have done so many horrible things in my life, monstrous, unspeakable things, for which words can never make up for. You've read all about the horror I've inflicted. But this is the thing I regret the most._

_You have always been the light in my life, you brought true bliss to a heart that never deserved it. I love you with every part of my soul, so hard that it hurts. But when you got the book, I knew I would eventually lose you. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you, which is the reason why I fought to drive Miss Swan out of town. But standing outside of the mine, knowing you could die in there, just to prove what I always knew to be true, I realized that I can not keep you if you don't want to be with me. I don't want to imprison people anymore; that is the person I was, not the person I want to be for you. You were the one who gave me the strength to find the goodness in me. When you love someone this hard, you do everything for them, because their happiness means your happiness. I know you will be happier with your real mother, so that's how it will be. I broke the curse so that you can be happy._

_Please, never change. Never lose your curiosity, your imagination and your dreams, your fantasy and your unawareful bliss. Go through life with open eyes and without judgement._

_Goodbye my little prince,_

_Mo-__Regina_

Clutching the paper against his chest, the boy cried. How could he have been that wrong about her? All he wanted to do was wake up from this nightmare and cuddle at her side, wrapped in her warm hug that chased the monsters away.

Emma gave him about half an hour before she headed upstairs to his room with a steaming mug in her hand. He couldn't respond through his tears, but accepted the mug. For that, he had to let go of the letter, and Emma took it. She read it and couldn't keep herself from tearing up herself reading Regina's declaration of love for her son.

_Miss Swan,_

_I am sure you will end up reading this as well. You will probably never forgive me, but know that I am deeply sorry for making your life hell by casting this curse that forced your parents to give you up. I ruined everyone's lives in my downward spiral of rage and hopelessness._

_You are the savior, it's your destiny to return the happy endings. You can start by returning the hearts I have stolen. If you push my father's tomb to the side, it will reveal a way to a red glowing wall. Take them and bring them to their rightful owners. It disgusts me, just how much I have become like my mother. I will never be able to make up for the evil I have commited, but I can give back what doesn't belong to me._

_Before I join the poor souls who were unfortunate enough to cross my path, I have one last wish. I know I don't deserve any favors, but please, do this one thing for me. Please be a good mother to Henry. Raise him to be the smart, wonderful man he can be. Teach him to see the world in more than just black and white, teach him to see the grey shades. If you go into my office, you will find a file box on my desk. It contains a cookbook with Henry's favorite meals. You're welcome to move into the mansion, since it's Henry's now, just like everything I own will go to Henry. The keys are in the box as well. There is also the paperwork to sign over his college trust fund to you, as well as the papers that make you Henry's legal guardian. Give him a good life and don't abandon him again._

_Thank you for giving me Henry, for gifting me ten wonderful years I wouldn't trade for anything. Thank you for bringing joy into my life._

_Regina_

Folding the letter back together, Emma Swan made a choice. She would honor Regina's wishes. Emma even found that she owed her. The woman who had raised her son and loved him as if he was her own. When Emma had given up her son, she had done so to give him his best chance. And that was what he'd gotten with Regina.

The next day, the results had come back from the lab. Poison. That was how she had decided to end her life. A poisoned apple for the Evil Queen. How utterly ironic.

The day of the funeral, the sun shone brightly, as if even the sky was celebrating. There were indeed many happy faces, but that was easily remedied by a strong punch in the face. Inside the elegant black casket laid the brunette, buried in one of her mayor's dresses, looking peaceful.

The blue fairy spoke first. "An act of true love broke the curse. It wasn't Regina's death that broke it, it was her sacrifice for the person she loved. She loved Henry enough to put his happiness over her life, there is no love stronger than that. And when the curse broke, we could all feel the love she had in her heart."

"Who would have thought that the Evil Queen could love, I thought she had no heart!", Leroy shouted.

"Oh she did", Mother Superior replied. "She had a bigger heart than any of us, but it has gone through too much, which made her vulnerable to the darkness. We all had people who stood by our side when we went through hard times, but Regina had noone. Which I am partly to blame for. Her pleas for help fell on deaf ears, I even punished the one fairy who dared to try to help her, just because of who her mother was. Many of us have hurt her in ways, and what did she do in return? She brought us to a land so advanced, so convenient, I can't even imagine going back now. Please, would everyone just take a moment and imagine what you would do if you didn't have anyone by your side while you walked through the tragedies of your lifes." Many looked down in silence as the nun stepped back.

Snow was next to step up. "When I first met Regina, I met an angel. She saved my life, when she had no idea who I was. Her smile lit up the world around me. And in return, I betrayed her and cost her her love. There was noone there for her to pick her up, so she lost her way. All those years she raised me, taught me, mothered me, she always showed me affection. To her, it might have only been a farce to gain our trust. But I know that deep down, her affection was real. She loved me and I loved her, even throughout our war. I always believed that she could find her way back to the light, if she just had someone to help her navigate. I always wanted it to be me, but in the end, it was Henry. He gave her the strength to fight her way back. As Mary Margaret, I taught him for years. He was the happiest child in town, always loved and cared for. For him, she found the strength to change, to become the person that deep down, she always was. She finally found the Regina inside herself that loved with a passion that could move mountains. Rest in peace, Regina, with Daniel by your side for eternity."

Emma was up next. She wanted to honor the mother of her son. "I might have only known Regina for days. And our encounters were never really friendly. But I got to know her very well in those days, through Henry. I saw a kind, smart and compassionate child, and that was all because of her. You learn a lot about a person by how they raise their children. Regina was the best thing that could happen to Henry. When I gave him up for adoption, I did so because I wanted him to have his best chance. Which he did. Thanks to her." When Emma finished, she surveyed the people. Many were crying. A very big part of the people tried to hide their tears, because who would cry for the Evil Queen, but they eventually gave up. Emma made her way back to her son and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here for you." Regina was laid to rest in her crypt, next to her father.

To Emma Swan, this was a totally different world. She didn't really have any memories to be brought back, but the light energy had brought her something different. Belief. Still, she couldn't comprehend everything in this town, especially since the people in town had so many different stories to tell, she couldn't follow. But one thing that was mentioned quite often was a 'Savior'. Her friend Mary Margaret, who was now apparently her mother - she still had to get used to that - had told her that Rumplestiltskin had prophesied that she would be the savior and break the curse. Which she hadn't and that was weird. And that's why they were on their way to him now.

The bell jingled when mother and daughter entered the Pawn Shop. "Mister Gold. Or Rumplestiltskin, however you call yourself, I want answers", Snow demanded. "Which you shall receive. Tea?" The old man emerged from the backroom, where he had been packing. Seriously, that man was weird. He got a steaming teapot and three mugs in no time.

"Let me guess, Miss Swan, everyone in town has a different story to tell and your little brain is completely confused. Well, they just lack the ability to see the big picture. But you deserve to know everything, so I will tell you. This whole curse thing was my doing. I lost my son to this land and spent centuries searching for a way to find him. I found it in the Dark Curse. I created that curse to be broken. Then I made my monster, so she would cast the curse for me." "Yet Regina was blamed and you're left alone", Emma noticed.

Snow decided to cut right to the chase. "The reason we're here is, because you told Charming and me that our daughter would be the one to break the curse." "Seems like you were pretty off, though", Emma added. "Oh, I was not off at all", Gold laughed. "You see, who would be stupid enough to trust anything the Dark One says? Seriously? Well, I knew you weren't the Savior. I only knew that you would have to escape the curse and come back 28 years later to set the events in motion that would lead to the true Savior to break the curse. This curse is breakable by nothing but its caster's death, which is why I needed to find the person with enough capacity to hate to cast it and enough capacity to love to break it."

"So you knew that Regina would break the curse? Yet you made her cast it in the first place? You took someone with a once pure heart and twisted her beyond recognition, knowing what would happen?", Snow asked incredulously. "Was all of this your doing? Her going dark? I met Regina when she was good. Was it you that broke her?" Rumple laughed again. "Me? No. I didn't break her. The whole world did that to her, ranging from her mother who abused her, her husband who never gave her an ounce of love or even recognition as a human being, fairies that wouldn't save her, her people that despised her. I merely gave her a way out, a way to fix herself." "By turning her towards darkness." "She was already shattered when I got to her. I merely reassembled the pieces to my liking. Well, I admit that I pushed her in the direction I needed her. I helped her pull herself out of her despair, gave her a purpose. Anyone could have done that. She could have been taught by fairies, and become a protector of the realms, but since no one cared for her, I was the one to take her under my wings. What do you imagine happens to souls mentored by the Dark One, dearie?"

"But you manipulated her to cast a curse, knowing it would end with her death. You manipulated us to send our daughter through a tree to a different land, all alone. Were we all just pawns in your sick game?" "Well, you charming three were pawns. Regina was my queen. And yes, I used you. Emma had to be sent here to meet Henry's father, to give him up, for Regina to adopt him. He was the reason she found it in herself to break the curse. Destiny is a rather sick beast. Or maybe I am. I could have given her any child to adopt, but I just deemed it so poetic to have the queen destroyed by her arch nemesis' grandchild. Anyhow, if you would excuse me, I have to pack, because I am leaving town to find my son." He left the two women to their own devices.

They decided to stay. Storybrooke was their home from now on, it was so much better in so many ways. Internet, democracy, health care, plumbing, central heating, paved roads, medicine, education, equality, peace. And Regina would live on in all of that.


End file.
